Hands On With The HTC HD2

Just when you think Windows Mobile is down for the count, out comes the HTC HD2, a super-fast touch screen phone that could mark a bunch of "firsts" when it comes out in the U.S. early next year. It definitely takes Windows Mobile to a new level.

Just when you think Windows Mobile is down for the count, out comes the HTC HD2, a super-fast touch screen phone that could mark a bunch of "firsts" when it comes out in the U.S. early next year. I got a few minutes with the HD2 recently, and it definitely takes Windows Mobile to a new level.

The HD2 is a gigantic, but slim, slab of a phone at 4.74 by 2.64 by .43 inches and 5.54 ounces, with a 4.3-inch, 480x800 capacitive touchscreen. That is a whopper of a screen. It's not any higher resolution than the HTC Touch Pro2 or the Motorola Droid, but it's bigger; you don't get more real estate, you get more punch.

The HD2 is the first Windows Mobile phone with a capacitive touchscreen, and the first with a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor. The 1-GHz Snapdragon uses a similar architecture to the ARM Cortex-A8 found in the iPhone 3GS, and includes a new graphics processor with OpenGL ES 2.0 support. This may be the fastest processor available on any U.S. device.

The phone runs Windows Mobile 6.5, sure, but you'd hardly know it because HTC's TouchFlo 3D skin replaces many of the features you'd usually use. On the Touch Pro2 for T-Mobile, you can skim your finger along the bottom of the screen to pick out common functions like contacts, messaging, or Web. But the HD2 feels faster than the Touch Pro2, and it has even more home-screen widgets, including one that brings Twitter to a home screen panel.

HTC replaced Microsoft's address book with its own. Ditto the calendar and photo gallery apps. Did I mention multi-touch? The HD2 uses the familiar pinch-to-zoom gesture in its photo app, Microsoft Office viewer, and Opera Web browser, which will thrill multi-touch fans.

In many ways this doesn't feel like Windows Mobile at all. Everything looks smoother, faster, and more elegant. The proof will come when I get a review model and try to delve down below HTC's extensions. Will Windows Mobile still feel usable?

The HTC HD2 is available right now in Europe, and it will come out early next year in the U.S. HTC declined to specify a carrier or price. They haven't announced a CDMA version of the phone, though, so it's most likely to come out on AT&T or T-Mobile.

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.
Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed...
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